TAMARA MCCARTHY

Director/Dramaturg

Tamara is an award-winning director, actor, producer, educator, and Co-Artistic Producer of The Fox Queen (thefoxqueen.ca). With over 40 professional directing credits, these include The Ladies Foursome; James and the Giant Peach (Chemainus); I Want To Be An Astronaut (Port Theatre); The Out Vigil (Theatre Newfoundland Labrador); The Wolves; Love/Sick (Douglas College); The Double Axe Murders (Gateway/ Evergreen); Julius Caesar (Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival); Into the Woods (VIU); Dead Drone (upintheair); The Sea; A Doll’s House (Slamming Door); La Bohème (Opera Nanaimo); Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet (Blue Bridge); FourPlay (Studio 58); Munsch Alley (Carousel). With Theatre BC, Tamara has been an Adjudicator in several provincial zones and is facilitating the Directors Lab Workshop at Mainstage 2026 in Vernon. She was in the first cohort of Cultural Leadership: Reflecting Forward with Wise Practices, at BANFF Arts Centre, and is the proud recipient of the 2021 John Moffat and Larry Lillo Award. Next she can be found directing this fall at Canadian College for Performing Arts.

OLIVIA ETEY

Playwright

Olivia Etey is a playwright, producer, and the creator of the Or Festival, a 10 minute play festival in Vancouver that seeks to create a bridge between the Deaf and Hearing Theatre Communities in Canada. (www.orfestival.com) She graduated from UBC with a double major in Creative Writing and English Honours. Her produced plays include: Foreplay (2015), her musical: The Midnight Serenade (2015), Living on the Grid (2016), which debuted at the Vancouver FRINGE Festival as part of The Only Animal’s Generation Hot Series, The Hoarder (2017) and her juke-box Opera Forever Hold Your Peace (Opera Unbound, 2022). Olivia’s play Woman Against Gravity was short-listed for the Lee Playwrighting Prize. It has received professional development through Upintheair Theatre’s rEvolver Festival (2025), Western Gold Theatre’s Have A Senior’s Moment Festival (2024), the TheatreOne Emerging Voices Program (2024), the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Works at The Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary (2021) and the Arts Club LEAP Program (2019). An excerpt of her bilingual play Emberré Váltam/I’ve Become Human Again, written in Hungarian and English was showcased at Rice & Beans Theatre’s DBLSK Program. She is insurmountably grateful to Evie Wallace, the extraordinary woman whose real life inspired the play, and to her phenomenal director, cast, creative team, family, and community for making this theatrical dream of hers a reality.

WENDY MAGAHAY

Actor  – Tessa 

Wendy Magahay is a long-time actor living in Victoria (lək̓ʷəŋən traditional territory) where she’s performed with many local companies. Her work has been called “steely and resolute… alternately snarky and jaded… and, hard to rival batshit crazy.”

JANET HIETTER

Actor – Patty 

Janet has acted in numerous theatre productions and a smattering of film and training videos in Seattle and Ohio. She studied theatre at The Ohio State University, Executive Leadership at Seattle University and previously worked as a Human Resources Director in the tech industry. She moved to Victoria two years ago, enjoys rowing with Victoria City Rowing Club and truly appreciates the warmth and vibrancy of this beautiful city.

MALCOLM HARVEY

Actor – Big Bill 

After a career in corporate communications I first stepped on stage at 71 with a small part in a Langham Court Theatre production of “People”. Now thoroughly bitten by the theatre bug I’ve been active with St. Luke’s Players, Langham Court and Attitude Theatre, among others, since then.

I find working with others in the cast, and the crew, to bring stories to life from words on a page very fulfilling; and getting an audience reaction to our creation is the ultimate reward for those efforts.

While I welcome any opportunity to be on stage, there are several roles which are favourites…A monologue as Graham in “A Chip in the Sugar”, a two hander in which I played Frank in “Frank and Percy” and, in a play cut short by Covid, as Tom Garrison in “I Never Sang for my Father” A couple of times I’ve played a butler or valet and these roles give lots of leeway for extra “tweaks” in the performance.

I have found that, for the most part, the people who love to get involved with live, local, theatre are some of the best people to be around. Friendly, cooperative, creative, helpful, they make good things happen. Not to forget, though, that the other essential requirement is a live audience. A great audience and a great performance come together to create what can only be described as the magic of live theatre. Emotional but transient, entertaining but thoughtful; it is our desire to bring such moments alive for us all.

HELGA WOOLSEY

Actor – The Old Lady/ Costume Coordinator

Helga Woolsey is a recent graduate of UVic’s theatre program. While she was actually focused on design and had the privilege of designing the costumes for In My Day she also discovered a love of performing. Acting credits at the Phoenix include one mainstage production, as Millie in Hot L Baltimore, and a director’s production where she played Luka in The Bear. Away from the university, she was delighted to be cast as Mrs. Clare in Scruples, and more recently as Sister Anthousa in Blessed are the Hungry, both entries in the Belfry’s One-Act Play festival. She is looking forward to exploring more opportunities now that she has left school, and intends to audition for every age-appropriate role that crosses her plate.

 

LUKE STEWART-WESTON

Stage Manager/Lighting Designer

Luke is a stage manager and lighting designer for community theatres across Victoria, as well as a student at Esquimalt High School. Previous stage management credits include I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Ravenscroft (Langham Court Theatre); and The Moors (Theatre Inconnu). Previous design credits include Hadestown (Esquimalt High School), Shade Apparel (Victoria Fringe Festival), Gold (Victoria One Act Play Festival), Send Me No Flowers, and An Inspector Calls (Langham Court Theatre). Luke would like to thank Andrea Gregg, a theatre collaborator and friend, for their continuous support and encouragement. See Luke and Andrea’s work next in Amigo’s Blue Guitar at Langham Court Theatre.

 

DARIA IGUMNOVA

Assistant Director/Assistant Producer

Passionate with heart and soul, Daria Igumnova is a producer, director, writer, and singer, currently based in Victoria, BC. Her most recent work includes Be Free! her very first one-act play featuring movement and dealing with the topic of never sacrificing your own desire or identity for anyone else’s comfort. Completing her diploma at the Canadian College of Performing Arts she is excited to be joining the college for another three exhilarating shows over the next six months! When she isn’t studying or directing she plays guitar and composes her own music, to connect or learn more check out @dariaigumnovaofficial on social media! She warmly wishes you to enjoy the show!

TYLER DEMOULIN

Sound Designer

Tyler Dumoulin is a composer, sound designer, and musician currently splitting his time between Toronto and Vancouver. With over a decade of theatre under his belt, he is thrilled to bring Woman Against Gravity to the Victoria Fringe Festival. Beyond the theatre, Tyler is an active musician on the local scene and a film producer. He is also an advocate for housing justice and is involved in municipal affairs in both of his home cities, bringing the same care for community and story to civic life as to the stage.

SCOTT ZECHNER

Set Builder

Scott is a Vancouver-based Technical Director and Drama & Theatre Production teacher. For the past decade Scott has been guiding students from prekindergarten through to Grade 12 as they explore, integrate and embrace all elements of technical theatre. Production design highlights include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Neverending Story (St. George’s School), The IT and Concord Floral (Mulgrave School). He holds a BFA in Design & Theatre Production from UBC.

 

Special thank you to Evie Wallace, the extraordinary woman whose true story inspired this play. 

  Woman Against Gravity has received professional development through the rEvolver Festival, Emerging Voices Program at TheatreOne, Western Gold Theatre’s Have A Senior’s Moment Festival, and the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work at the Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary, AB. The play was also developed during the Arts Club LEAP program in 2018.

Thanks to the Canadian College of Performing Arts.